Budgam, Mar 25 (KNO): A primary school in the Chadoora area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district craves the attention of the School Education Department which is busy with the student enrollment drive.
The school at Babawani Nagam in Chadoora functions from a three-room building and is without basic infrastructure.
Locals told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the school had been dysfunctional for more than a decade. They said the authorities had assured them that it would be upgraded to a smart school if they enroll their children.
Pamposh Yatoo, a local resident from Babawani, told KNO that the school was not functioning for the last 12 years. “It started running in November 2021 and at that time, the authorities promised of renovating the school if we enroll our children there, but nothing has been done so far,” he said.
“We sent our kids there with the hope that the government would renovate the school and provide it with the best facilities, but they didn’t fulfill their promise,” Yatoo said.
Another resident, Mateen Ahmad, said, ‘’Due to the dilapidated condition of the school, the students face several hardships. They shiver with cold as the rooms are without windows. We have still covered them with polythene. There is also a single washroom for all students.”
We collected funds for the floor matting and put our own water tank for students, but the education department is doing nothing, Mateen added.
The locals said that due to the lack of infrastructure, the parents would never enroll their children in the school. They said the issue has already been brought to the notice of the concerned in the School Education Department but to no avail.
When contacted, the concerned Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) Nagam, Jalal U Din said the school was dysfunctional because it was combined with a middle school due to the lack of students.
“Last year, the school was made functional when 17 students were admitted during a drive. We have already sent a proposal for its renovation and the school will be renovated as soon as the funds are made available. Then the students will have access to all facilities,” the ZEO said—(KNO)